Hello Everyone,
The weather is cooling, the leaves are turning, and there’s pumpkin spice latte at Star Bucks!! We all know what that means, fall is approaching!! There is nothing better than sitting outside and enjoying the cool weather with the colorful display of changing leaves. With the hint of fall in the air, it also means that school is back in session. School may look a little different this year, but the one thing that doesn’t change is a hungry student.
I remember being back at school and losing focus due to be hungry. Trying to get back into a routine and schedule after a long summer can be hard. Having the right kinda of snack to help makes all the difference. August 31st was National Trail Mix Day and there no greater snack than a healthy snack that promotes energy and helps keep you focused.
Trail Mix is not only for hiking on the trail, but is a great snack that can be easily stored in a backpack and ready to go when needed. Filled with nuts, dried fruit, and grains, trail mix packs a boost of carbohydrates when the body needs it most. The nuts supply good fats as well as sustained energy, too. That’s exactly what you need to help you stay focused during the day.
With so many ways to make this tasty snack, this is the perfect way to get your kids involved and do it together as a family. This let’s them feel like they get to be creative by adding together the ingredients that they like to eat. With endless possibilities here is a list of the common ingredients that may be used:
- Nuts, such as almonds or cashews
- Legumes, such as peanuts or baked soybeans.
- Dried fruits such as cranberries, apricots, apples, banana chips, or candied orange peel
- Chocolate: chocolate chips, chunks, and M&M's
- Breakfast cereals such as Granola, Cheerios, Chex Mix, or other whole grain
- Rye chips
- Pretzels
- Seeds, such as pumpkin seeds, or sunflower seeds
- Carob chips
- Shredded coconut
- Ginger (crystalized)
Here are a few of my favorite trail mix recipes that you can try at home. They are easy and are just as fun to make as they are to eat. Have a student who has a nut allergy, no worries I will have a recipe that great for you too.
Nut Free Trail Mix:
Ingredients
1 cup dried cranberries
1 cup banana chips
1 cup chocolate chunks
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pepitas
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients.
Store in an airtight container in a cool place.
Cinnamon Trail Mix:
Ingredients:
Instructions:
Combined all ingredients into a bowl and stir together. Pre heat oven to 350 and spread mix on cookie sheet. Bake for 13-15 minutes and let cool when done.
There are so many amazing ways to make this yummy treat. You can add spies or make it sweet with lots of chocolate. Go tropical with lots of dried fruit or add hot spices to make for a fiery treat. Just have fun creating together. This is a healthy treat that is sure to please. Have a fantastic first week of school everyone. No matter how your school looks, remember we are all in this together and can lean on each other for resources or support. We got this!! See you next week.
Tiffany
Program Supervisor